Fleeting
by Ghilasmelana
Summary: Solas is reunited with his fleeting dalliance who now became the Inquisitor. How will their future relationship develop and can his feelings change into something more profound? A bundle of short Solavellan stories told mostly from Solas' POV.
1. Chapter 1

At first it was nothing more than a one-night dalliance. A tumble in the leaves, when the night enveloped the aged trees of the forest and the Dalish clan in the distance slowly succumbed to the sleep and rest.

But as days passed, he grew more curious about these elves. He resented their primitive ways and their botched traditions which seemed to have more elements wrong than right. He wondered just how far his people had fallen since his last Uthenera and so he reluctantly forced himself to seek them out and share in their knowledge.

It was then that his fleeting encounter with one of the Dalish became a bit more. He had often found himself wandering through the Fade and his mind conjured images of her cinnamon curls which loosely fell over the soft and pale skin on her back. Her eyes, the color of the moss and leaves in the late summer taunted him, but most prominent of all, and that was something Solas bitterly fought against, was his fascination with her Vallaslin.

At first as with all the other things he resented the idea and the utterly butchered implications the Dalish concluded from the old legends. The very thought that they had willingly marked their faces with the slave markings which was a custom he so fervently fought against, just made his blood boil. But as with everything the time cooled down his head. He was now settled in a cold resentment and after meeting his nightly companion this too changed into a curiosity.

Back in Arlathan he would never approach the elven girls or women who bore the slave markings be they still on their faces or removed. It did not feel right, he would feel cheap and dirty for doing so. But now she was here, marked willingly and proud of the marks and that gave him a chance to see the ancient symbols and lines in a different perspective.

It was just the irony of the fate that she chose to bare Mythal's marks, but he had to admit that there was something very erotic in the curving lines of the tree branches which lined her face in a deep, green color, like her eyes. It beautifully accentuated the already perfect curve of her cheek bones and jaw and continued along her neck only to disappear under her clothing.

Solas smirked as her ran his long fingers over the naked shoulder of his lover who was deeply asleep among the wolf pelts in the makeshift camp, he had made at one of the meadows deep in the forest. He traced the Vallaslin line down her neck and along the shoulder only to stop short of the rising peaks of her chest. He did not wish to wake her, after all this was their last night together as tomorrow, he would set out south to explore Ferelden and learn more of the conflict which erupted between the Templars and the Mages.

She shifted next to him and he gently pressed a fleeting kiss on top her shoulder and pulled the warm furs closer around her. He then slipped out of the makeshift bed and gathered few of his belongings in an almost total silence. It would be better to leave now then wait for the morning and listen to the heartfelt goodbyes. After all, this was nothing more than a fleeting entertainment, barely a distraction from his plans. When the sun rose above the horizon and shone through the green leaves of the trees, Solas was long gone and could not hear the heartbroken cries of his name resonating through the forest.

A few months later Solas found himself in a rather peculiar predicament. The skies were torn apart by a large gaping rift which threatened to tear down the Veil and violently bring chaos into the world. He was without his orb and most of his power but that was not the worst of it. He had found himself locked in a damp cell under the human settlement of Haven and starring in disbelief at the familiar Vallaslin half obscured by the cinnamon colored hair.

Angry green light pulsed at the center of her left palm and she spasmed in pain, her face covered in cold sweat and pained moans softly echoed from the walls. This could not be happening, that she out of all the possible people would end up with the Anchor he so needed on her own hand. It must have been the cruelest joke the Fate had played on him yet. But he sat there, poured his magic into her hand in a desperate attempt to calm the forces which threatened to tear her apart and at the same time hoped for but also dreaded the moment she might wake up. Even though he tried to recall his reasoning behind leaving so abruptly all those months ago, the satisfaction his body and ego their brief encountered brought him, he was unable to do so. Seeing her again in pain which was his doing, there was no way around it, it stirred something in his heart, feelings he had long thought forgotten or nonexistent.

He brushed her hair aside and gently wiped the sweat from her forehead. He leaned closer to her ear. „You must wake up, Vhennan." Solas whispered urgently. He paused slightly at the involuntary use of the endearment but then shook his head. It was true, even though he had not said it before, when they shared the silent nights in the forest together, he was honest about his feelings this time, and a little bit terrified what they might imply for the future.


	2. Chapter 2

Solas liked to wander through Haven and its surrounding area at night. It was peaceful since most of the inhabitants were in their houses, seeking warmth and respite. Save for the few guards on the wooden palisade he was alone and could think. And he had many things to think about indeed.

The breach, his orb, Coryphaeus and lastly the Herald of Andraste who after she regained her consciousness and screamed her lungs out at him settled into a chilling indifference of shared greetings and stolen looks. Solas was almost sure that she was studying him when she thought he was not aware of her gaze.

Just as it was his habit he now slowly walked back towards the small, wooden house which was assigned to him, his mind heavy with thoughts and his hands heavy with bags of herbs he had picked during his nightly stroll. He thought he could at least occupy himself by picking up these useful plants and with the wounded soldiers littering the camp outside they were certainly needed.

Lost in thoughts Solas entered his makeshift home and at first did not notice anything amiss. It was only after a moment that he had realized that she was sitting on his bed, eyes trained at nothing in particular before her and her right hand clutched a piece of parchment. He had never seen her this distressed before. Not when she had learned how to close the rifts, not when she climbed the hill to close the breach and not even when they faced their first fight with the templars and mages in Hinterlands. Something must be seriously wrong to rattle her so much that her whole body shook, and she did not even notice him enter.

The fire was out, Solas noticed first and before he moved on to finding what was wrong with the Herald, he decided to make the place at least a little bit more comfortable and also to ease himself into the familiar and calm routine. He threw a few logs into the fireplace and with a flick of his wrist there was a pleasant roar of fire which immediately radiated so much needed heat. He had to wonder just how long did she sit there in cold and dark?

Solas cleared his mind as he moved to sit down on his knees before her and spoke: "Did something happen, _lethallan_?"

His voice seemed to rouse her from her thoughts as she slowly focused her gaze on him, seemingly completely surprised to see him sit before her. "I apologize for intruding but…" Her voice trailed off as she looked at the half-crumbled piece of parchment in her hand and then continued with a long sigh. "…I just didn't know where else to go." She finished.

Solas pondered it briefly then slowly reached out with his hands to touch hers, he was testing the waters so to speak, because since her awakening a few weeks ago they avoided each other whenever possible. "Tell me what happened, _lethallan_." He said at last while he gave his hold over her hands a reassuring squeeze.

"I just received this." She replied after a slight pause and moved her hand with the parchment to signal that he should take it.

It had been a while since Solas felt completely shaken. He usually kept his composure but the news he had read on that single piece of paper managed to strike him deeply. So, they were all gone, entire clan wiped out. He was not in any way fond of the Dalish but they were people, they tried their best despite them being so ignorant and now all those people he had met so many months ago were destroyed by the Inquisition's oversight and poor judgement.

Solas carefully folded the note and placed it on the bed next to her while he kept his eyes on her face. He could still see the unshed tears welling behind her eyes and the mask of shock which slowly cracked as the realization and pain started to seep in.

" _Ir abelas, lethallan_ …I am so sorry." Solas whispered.

That seemed to have broken the already cracking walls around Herald's composure as she slid down from the bed and with a desperate cry of pain and loss wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed herself against him.

To say that Solas was taken aback by this abrupt shift in her behavior would be understatement but he gently wrapped his arms around her and cradled her in his embrace. He stroked her hair and let her cry out her feelings. It was needed.

"Let out your feelings _lethallan_ , only then you will become strong enough to overcome this." Solas softly whispered while he held her all the while his own thoughts rushed through is mind. She had lost everything. Her Keeper, her family and now her people and if he read the report right it was due to the choice she had made when dispatching the forces. He could sympathize with her. Loss and regrets were something he was so intimately familiar with. But never before he had anyone around, he could reflect with or share in the pain. Perhaps this was a sign of fate.


	3. Chapter 3

The fact that the Inquisitor was not afraid to face the hostile mages, templars, bandits, demons, darkspawn or wildlife soon became a solid truth in Solas' mind. He had seen her fling spells at the enemies or shield her allies while standing her ground firmly. The Hinterlands became a much safer place since the Inquisition's intervention and Solas approved.

It was only when they arrived at the farmland of the local horse breeder that Solas saw a genuine concern on Inquisitor's face. She eyed the horse corrals with a wary look and when Master Dennet proposed she try one of his best mares she politely refused with an excuse that it would be more practical to scale the nearby hills on foot and that they will gladly wait for the horses to arrive in one large bulk after the watchtowers were built.

The rest of their early incursion into the Hinterlands went peacefully. They camped near a river before they set out to climb the rocky roads and paths back to Skyhold and Solas thought nothing more of the incident. That was until the two weeks later Master Dennet arrived with the Inquisition's soldiers and a large caravan of horses trailed behind them. Most of them had been stabled in the open areas outside the main wall but a few which were selected specifically for the Inner Circle were brought inside to the courtyard where a large crowd gathered to admire the beasts.

Solas was watching this from the bridge which connected the rotunda with the battlements and had to admit to himself that the animals were indeed the top tier. Their coats shone in the afternoon sun and they shook their heads and pawed the ground impatiently while their muscles strained with abundance of energy. Solas felt almost thrilled at the prospect of taming that energy underneath his saddle once they depart for another mission.

Just as he was ready to go down and take a closer look, he caught a glimpse of the Inquisitor who stood near the main gate of Skyhold, her face a reflection of pure fear as she eyed the horses, her feet taking a few slow steps back before she swiftly disappeared around the corner and out into the woods. Solas frowned while he recalled her previous encounter at the farm and with an equal part of curiosity and worry hastened his way down the steps and weaved through the crowd to slip away just as unnoticed as she did. Sometimes being an elf, overlooked by the human masses had its advantage, he thought.

Solas couldn't claim a proficiency at tracking through the green undergrowth or forests. In fact, he was sure that the Inquisitor herself was one of the best scouts the Inquisition had but this time she was careless. He could see her hasty footprints in the soft mud, walking at first, then running. He sped his pace and after a while arrived at a secluded clearing near a rocky cropping where he found her sitting on the ground and breathing heavily from her run.

" _Lethallan_?" Solas half whispered as he slowly approached her. He did not wish to cause her more alarm.

Lavellan turned around and for a briefest of moments stared at him in a disbelief before she composed herself behind the mask, she often wore around the Skyhold. Neutral, plain, guarded.

"Solas…what are you doing here?" She asked almost casually but he could see her marked hand shake a bit and had to wonder if the anchor flared in painful spikes when she was distressed. It was something he would need to look into later but for now he thought of an indirect approach.

"I saw you leave the courtyard in a hurry and thought that perhaps something of interest was here?" He let out a soft chuckle as she watched her guarded features soften a bit. "And it seems I was correct." He added with a smile and took a few steps forward.

Lavellan stood there unmoving, she nearly looked like a halla blinded by a fire. Her green eyes were wide, and he was almost sure he could hear her mind work overtime to try and find some excuse to leave. "You are afraid of horses _lethallan_." Solas concluded somberly and closed the distance between them. He could hear her let out a nervous chuckle before she turned her gaze to the ground and nodded once.

"In my clan…" She started slowly but paused and he could see her gather the strength to go on. The pain of losing her entire clan was still raw for her and Solas recalled her grief when she cried in his arms in Haven and later when her sorrow turned to unbridled fury and she vaporized ice from half of the frozen lake outside the village. "…we only kept a small herd of halla. You might remember but clan Lavellan was not very large, we only had five aravels after all." She finished and let out a small sigh but seemed more confident in her words now.

"Perhaps it would be easier if we sat down?" Solas smiled gently and gestured towards a fallen tree trunk which seemed mostly free of snow and mud.

Lavellan nodded and joined him. As they sat there for a moment in the silence and had the afternoon sun faintly warm their backs Solas thought about their shared time in the Free Marches. He had not seen it that way when he was there, but those moments were calm, fulfilling and he had to admit to himself that he treasured them in his heart.

"Well...to continue. " Lavellan tried for a small chuckle but it sounded a bit hollow. "When I was around twelve years old a large band of _shemlen_ decided that our tribe was responsible for the illness which culled their sheep herds. So, they gathered everyone from the nearby two villages and set out to drive us out of the forest."

Solas could imagine where this was going. He had heard such stories too often when he roamed Thedas after his awakening. And they usually all ended the same way.

"Some of them rode on the horses they used to plough their fields, they were huge. I remember I have not seen animals so big ever before when they came thundering into our camp." Lavellan continued and possibly subconsciously shifted to sit closer to him. "They chased us like animals, burned our tents and aravels and slaughtered any halla which couldn't flee fast enough."

Solas felt his blood burn after hearing her words. Too many elves have been slaughtered for nothing. Too many have been treated worse than animals. He knew that it was his fault, because he robbed his people off the strength to stand up against the _shems_. He would fix it, he had to. And he could start up by making amends for how he had previously treated Lavellan. She was not one of his people, not really but she did display courage, strength, insights, focus and inquiring mind which were all rare qualities in anyone at the times like these.

"You do not need to continue, _lethallan_ if it causes you pain." Solas whispered softly next to her and drew her closer into an understanding embrace.

Lavellan seemed to relax against his chest and breathed out a soft sigh which brought an ecstatic shiver down his spine. He was too much reminded of their past to not register the slight hitch in her voice. "I will have to ride on one though, everyone will expect it of me." She half whispered with a sort of mournful chuckle at the end.

Solas couldn't fight it anymore. Her soft body pressed against him, he could feel every curve of her chest through his thin shirt. Her scent hasn't changed, and he cursed himself for this weakness once more before he replied. "If you'd like we can train alone together?"

Lavellan softly chuckled against him and drew a bit away to look him in the eyes. "Is that so?" She replied with a teasing tone in her voice.

"The riding I meant." Solas corrected himself hastily and almost immediately groaned as he mentally punched himself.

"Oh? Horse riding or?..." Lavellan now openly teased him but the smile on her face was well worth it Solas thought.

And just like that he felt his previous resolve crumble when he felt her soft and warm lips pressed against his own. It was so familiar yet titillating with the suppressed want and soon he found his hands lightly roam over her back before his fingers wandered into her hair and tightly grabbed a handful of her cinnamon curls which rewarded him with a strained moan.

"Solas…we shouldn't…not here." Lavellan breathed into his ear, her hot breath tickled his skin and he had barely enough self-control to pull back.

" _Na nuvenin, ma vhenan_." He replied and planted a last kiss against her lips. "I will see you back in Skyhold." He added with a smirk before he stood up to walk back to the stone fortress which loomed above the tree line. The evening was upon them after all and he had yet to see the Inquisitor's chambers.


	4. Chapter 4

Hello kind readers. I am very nervous about this chapter since it turned out to be a dare I devised for myself as a way to step out of my comfort zone with the writing for once.  
Hopefully it is readable in the state it is :-)

Lavellan felt like she had sand stuck to even the smallest parts of her body. It took them a long time to travel back from the Western Approach and yet when she took off her robes and clothing, she found a small pile of that orange and yellow nuisance spill onto the hardwood floors of her quarters. Her body ached. She could feel the throbbing pain of the muscles she didn't even know she had, and she was just ready to collapse on the bed and fall asleep. Luckily for her Josephine had the brilliant presence of mind and ordered a hot bath ready for her. And so now the Inquisitor lounged luxuriously in the rather spacious wooden bathtub filled with steaming hot water mixed with some exotic antivan salts and she could feel her beaten and bruised body finally relax.

A soft knock on the entrance door to her chambers roused her from her blissful relaxation but she hardly spared it a thought. It was most likely Lelliana who had informed her just as she had entered the Skyhold that there was a rather large pile of reports which needed her immediate attention. Lavellan groaned softly and raised her voice to answer the polite knocking: "Enter, the door is not locked."

After all the reports could be delivered to her writing table and her bathtub was separated from the rest of the room by tactically placed Orlesian room dividers. She could hear the soft footsteps coming up the stairs then a pause as her visitor probably looked around and then silence. That unnerved her a little and Lavellan strained her eyes to look around the darkened room which was only sporadically illuminated by the two candles on her nightstand and the dying embers in the fireplace. Then suddenly she felt her right foot gently grabbed by a set of slender fingers and a low voice whispered from around the divider: "I am pleased to see you back from your journey, _ma_ _vhenan_."

Solas had to stiffen a chuckle when he felt Lavellan's leg tighten in an alarm then instantly relax when she heard his voice. It was a good sign. He could see the faintest of shadows painted on the divider. Her head and shoulders rested at the sides of the bathtub and she slid a bit deeper into the water now.

" _Fenedhis_ Solas…you scared me." Lavellan chuckled lightly and he could hear the water splash when she moved again.

Solas smiled and turned his focus to his hands, more respectively he started to gently massage her foot, methodically choosing the known pressure points to relieve the strain and stress from her muscles. "How was your travel?" He asked while he enjoyed the soft groans of pleasure Lavellan let slip between her lips as he continued his massage.

"We secured the keep and resources, now we need to dispatch more soldiers who will prepare the rest of the region." Lavellan paused for a moment and gently withdrew her foot from his hands only to replace it with the other. Solas chuckled and resumed his ministration. "I must admit that I was not entirely pleased with being left here _vhenan_." He said after a moment and stopped the massage. He was on a prowl now there was no denying it. Her presence, completely naked and just separated by a thin piece of wood and glass from him made his blood boil. Solas ran his hand along her calf and was rewarded by the softest of sighs.

"But waiting here for your return has given me an ample time to devise some…punishment." He almost growled out the last word while he took hold of the divider and slid it aside so he could marvel at her in all her splendor.

There it was, that magnetizing look on her face. Caught off guard, her eyes locked with his and he could see her breathing sped up a bit. Solas had to admire her, she was so beautiful.

"Punishment? For the head of the Inquisition?" Lavellan laughed tauntingly and shifted slightly which sent ripples through the water. Solas still had one of his hands on the bottom of her right calf and now lightly ran the tips of his fingers along the length of it and upwards towards where the water surface obscured the rest of her flesh.

When he leaned closer to her and his lips almost touched the shell of her ear Lavellan felt the familiar shiver run through her body. She kept her face as neutral as she could, but she couldn't deceive herself. This man had her in his grasp. In the past one word from him and her walls crumbled with suppressed excitement and want. It was the same now. She could feel his slender fingers lightly slide over the skin on her inner thigh and upwards and a soft sigh of pleasure escaped her lips. This prompted him to whisper again against her ear and the ripples of his voice which reverberated against her skin almost sent her over the edge. "Close your eyes."

The intonation was far from a command but Lavellan felt her breathing quicken and did as he asked. Darkness enveloped her but it heightened her other senses after a moment. She could hear him move behind her and regretted it when he withdrew the hand which caressed her leg. A short while later she felt a thin cloth wrapped around her eyes and started to almost tremble with anticipation.

When they were together back with her clan, they never had time for anything like this. She had to sneak away and back to the camp each time they wanted to share a few moments as her clan's keeper made it abundantly clear what she thought of any closer relations between the stranger and her First. But she yearned for it and especially now. She had to command so many people, stand as a strong beacon of hope and she needed a release, a few moments where she could be herself only with Solas and their desires.

His strong hands which picked her up from the bath interrupted her train of thoughts. He carried her somewhere then a moment later firmly placed her on the bed. He pulled her hands up above her head and pinned them down with one of his hands while she could feel him hover over her, the thin fabric of his cotton shirt lightly grazed the naked flesh of her chest and Lavellan shivered when she realized he had her this firmly in his mercy, revealed and vulnerable.

"Solas…" Lavellan whispered, her breath hitching in her throat and she heard him chuckle above her, the sound of his laugh made her immensely happy.

"I will make you sing for me in pleasure, _vhenan_." Solas purred near her ear and she could feel his hand slide down across her stomach before his fingers burrowed deep into her core without as much as a warning.

It was so unexpected that Lavellan could only arch her back and cry out in both surprise and pleasure. She could feel tension build up in her body as the warmth spread from her hips and her breathing was more shallow now. "Solas…please…" She managed to whisper before her body tightened around his fingers which attacked her in a precise and painfully blissful rhythm, and she fell on the bed almost breathless as she came undone around him.

Solas had to smirk at the sight of her. Her body radiated warmth around him. Lavellan was so high strung with stress of her responsibilities and travels that it took him barely a few moments to bring her pleasure. And he loved every minute of it. "You seem to be out of shape, _vhenan_." He teased before he removed the blindfold from her eyes and meanwhile positioned himself above her, his hips met hers and Solas' lips crashed with hers in a warm and deep kiss before he slid home in one painfully long thrust which made Lavellan underneath him cry out in a pure bliss.

Their bodies danced around each other, intertwined and lost in the pleasure of the moment. Solas would have liked for their time together to last forever but it couldn't. They had duties to attend to and she needed to rest. They settled in an embrace under the sheets and for the first time Solas intended to spend the whole night at her side. He wrapped his arms around her and held her close almost reacting upon an instinct, afraid that this moment would shatter, and he would lose her. He had not felt this relaxed and safe for ages and nestled his head to the crook of her neck while the last of the candles burned out and they were enveloped by the night.


End file.
